Former Reds star Joey Votto is a Hall of Famer, but shouldn't get in on first ballot

On Aug. 21, 40-year Reds veteran Joey Votto officially called it quits from professional baseball. At the conclusion of last year, the Reds declined his $20 million club option for 2024 after he only managed to play 65 games in as he battled multiple injuries throughout the season. Votto clearly didn't want to be done with baseball, even though those injuries and the end of his tenure with the team that drafted him in 2002 were basically begging him to do so.

He signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays after a protracted free agency, during which he made multiple pleas on social media for another team to give him a shot at getting back to the majors. But he batted .165 over three levels of the minors this season, making a major league return next to impossible, and he finally decided to pack it up.

His official retirement started the clock on his Hall of Fame eligibility. He'll be eligible in 2029, on a ballot that will also include Miguel Cabrera, Zack Greinke, and Adam Wainwright as first-timers.

Only 60 players have ever been voted into the Hall of Fame on their first ballot — Adrián Beltré and Joe Mauer are the newest inductees — and now the question for Votto is whether or not he deserves to be among them.

Joey Votto will be Hall of Fame eligible in 2029, but he should have to wait a little while for an induction

The question isn't if Votto should get into the Hall of Fame, but when. Votto is a Hall of Famer; his nine-time MVP candidacy, 2010 win, six All-Star appearances, and the longevity of his career make his argument completely clear. However, that longevity might also be the thing that hurts his argument the most.

Votto's last two major league seasons were far from perfect, and he probably should've taken his 2022 rotator cuff surgery as a sign. Over 91 games, he had a then-career low .205 average and -0.1 fWAR, and as happy as fans were to welcome him back in 2023, it felt like he'd overstayed his welcome. When he was begging for a contract on social media, he was definitely trying to overstay his welcome ever further.

Fifteen of Votto's 17 major league seasons with the Reds do all the talking for him in terms of a Hall of Fame bid, and it wouldn't be surprising if they're more than enough to get him into Cooperstown in 2030 or later. Fans shouldn't be expecting to see him get in on the first ballot, given how subpar four of his final MLB seasons were.